She's Like Caffeine Incarnate
by Ivanolix
Summary: Coffee shops bring out the geeky side of Vala.  Established D/V, post-Continuum


_(A/N: Originally posted on livejournal in 2009)_

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><p>The day Daniel figured out that Vala was a geek was the day that he might as well have dropped over dead. Overdramatic, Sam might say, but Vala would probably shrug and wait for him to bounce back to life so she could finish her statement.<p>

He was used to her thinking his artifacts were a little silly, and Sam had convinced him years ago that one could be a decent person and not like archaeology. His thoughts when any of them dismissed his work were still, _Must not judge, must not judge, must not judge_, but he had gotten somewhere at least.

Her delight over certain aspects of knowledge should have given him a hint, even if they were a relentless purchase of novels with half-clothed couples strewn across their pink covers, and nights in the SGC theatre being instructed by Teal'c in the Way of the Cinema. Oh, and there was that unfortunate point where she memorized the entire musical library of Eminem in an attempt to show him that she could appreciate Earth high art. Yeah. It should have been a clue, in any case.

As they didn't precisely connect on that level, however, it took Daniel three years and half a dozen impromptu Starbucks trips to make it out. On the third one with Vala, he had his notebook out on the table, a deep-roasted smell of the coffee of the week coming out of his paper cup with the little green logo. He didn't notice Vala first poring over the symbol, then gazing back at the menu, letting her small green tea frappuccino melt as she absently poked at the whipped cream with her straw. Her brow furrowed a little, but Daniel was halfway through reading an Ancient text that Rodney had sent over from Atlantis, though he still didn't have any translation notes to add before sending it to the official base translator.

"Daniel, how often do you loiter in this particular establishment?" came the curious tones of his erstwhile kryptonite in female form.

"Not very, given that there isn't a branch on base or off world," he said without looking up. Pausing for a second, he added, "Yet." Just for good measure.

"Oh, then you're not as addicted as some of your friends," Vala answered, sounding vaguely disappointed.

He glanced up, trying to read her face. "You need me to take you here more often?"

A smile danced on her lips as she leaned in, setting down her already-sloshing frappuccino. "Well," she said in a low tone, "perhaps not, but I did just have a delicious idea."

The grin in her eyes didn't scare him as much as it might have a year ago. "Um, Vala, they don't really respond well to jokes in these kinds of places..."

She shook her head. "No, no, Daniel, not that. But I don't know what all these taste like, since coffee's, you know, a bit of a new thing for me. So I was trying to see how many trips it would take to try everything on the menu. Does the venti taste any different, is that why you pay the extra coin?"

"Whoa, what?" Daniel said, head twitching a little as he wrapped his head around her words. He found himself leaning in a little, though, as the rest of the coffee shop was quiet. "Vala, it is not the point of going through life to try everything on every menu."

She frowned. "Now Daniel, don't say that, you said you knew exactly which drinks I would probably like and which ones I wouldn't. How could you, if you hadn't ever had them?"

Daniel paused, mouth vaguely ajar. He was distracted by a sudden beam of sunshine cutting through the window, lighting up the sparkle in Vala's hair that now matched the one in her eyes. "Well, I just know. I've never actually had them, of course, but you don't need to—there's always a way to guess and use past experiences and relating—"

"Yes, but Daniel, I've had none of that," Vala said with a slight wave of her hand.

"So what do you want to do?" Daniel found himself asking, slightly helpless in his confusion.

"Well, try all the drinks, of course," Vala said. She reached behind her ear to pop a small silver pencil from her hair. "And take notes, so I can remember—can I borrow your notebook?"

Daniel blinked. "Vala, the money..."

"I have plenty left over this month," Vala said, brushing off the concern and starting to get out of her chair.

Daniel also stood up a little. "Wait, Vala, you can't just buy one of every drink, you can't drink that much coffee."

"Oh Daniel, I'm not going to drink all of each drink, just a few sips," Vala said with a slight gurgle of laughter at his look.

Daniel glanced up at the menu, did a quick calculation, found himself not sure if he added the right number of zeros, and then just jumped to estimation and words again. "No—Vala—it's not that, it's just. That much caffeine is not good, I know for a fact." The last words were with a slight chuckle that came out sounding nervous.

"Caffeine," Vala said, mouth pursing a little as she thought for a moment. "Yes, I've heard of this power, but what does it mean?"

"You don't—you haven't?" Daniel sighed and put a hand to his brow. "Caffeine, Vala, it's a stimulant."

She flashed him a quick grin. "Really?"

"Yes," he answered bluntly, suppressing the rush of color to his face. "Like adrenaline, you remember Dr. Lam telling you about that, right? It makes you hyper if you have too much, and it comes in coffee."

"Is that what that little buzz is, then?" Vala mused, waving her hand around her head. "I thought it was just really good sex last night, or some miracle had happened and your Ancienty talk on the way here had really got me interested or something." She was starting to move towards the counter again.

Daniel breathed out, slightly out of his element, slightly frustrated for reasons he couldn't exactly tell. "Vala, I really don't think—"

"You like coffee, don't you Daniel?" she said, turning to ask him with a quick smile.

"Yes," he answered, wondering where this was going.

"So you can help," Vala answered brightly. She handed him the pencil. "We'll need to keep track of the ones we try, and maybe give them those interesting little sun ratings, or star, I think, is what they are. Then I can sort them on your computer, and know exactly what I want to get when we next show up."

Daniel's brow furrowed for a second, but his mouth closed and he accepted the pencil. She was already off.

"Hello," Vala's melodious invitation to the barrista drifted back across the quiet coffee shop. "I have a bit of a special request, but I've got lots of money, so you needn't worry..."

Daniel didn't hear the rest. He frowned, realizing that his impression was slightly off, somehow not fitting with everything—he actually thought Vala's idea was a good one. It was the kind of radical act that he didn't really go for, usually, with him tending to stick to braving random energy waves and mysterious-looking purple plants, if he had to. But a database for coffee choices would be an outcome he could get behind, always finding himself flustered when trying to order. He knew one thing he liked for sure, and he guessed for Vala, but the rest was a mystery.

A mystery that Vala was now dissecting and translating, and well, at least he didn't have to see the look in the barrista's eyes as she tapped computer keys, Vala's order still going on. This would be a good day-off spent.

After handing over her still-shiny credit card with a grin and a slight rise in her step, Vala nodded Daniel over to the table nearest the pick-up counter. He bit the bullet and shifted his things. As he opened a blank page in his notebook, starting to add columns for "Drink", "Price", "Impression", and "Rating", he thought of one last thing.  
>Vala grabbed the first two drinks, one hot, one cold, the pumpkin smell mingling with the mint chocolate one and starting to tempt his nose.<p>

"Just a minute," Daniel said, as he reached into his pocket for his cell phone. Vala settled with an almost purr of appreciation and intrigue, poking the straws into the cups with glee behind a veneer of professionalism.

He dialed Sam's number, and waited for her to answer. He'd try to keep each test to a single sip, but if they were going to end up with a caffeine high and in need of rescue, there was only one person he knew who would understand this desire for a thorough examination of this issue. And who would keep the embarrassing secret in fear of similar exploits being exposed; Teal'c might understand too, but they all protected Mitchell from their geeky neuroses.

Daniel finished leaving the information and the address, and turned back to the table with an intake of breath, supposing he was ready for it to start. Behind them, a suspicious barrista placed another two finished drinks on the counter, and Vala pushed the first one on their table towards him.

"Did you know, coffee's a recent discovery, really," Daniel said, sniffing at the drink before lifting it to his mouth. "Egyptian, sort of, though definitely not Goa'uld era."

"Was that before or after they discovered mint?" Vala asked, taking a small sip as her eyebrows rose.

Daniel grinned, but it was to himself. Vala was such a geek, he should have figured it out years ago; he just needed to find the right area of study.


End file.
